MOLECULAR PHYLOGENY AND PHENOLOGY REVEAL A NEW FUNGISTIC RECORD OF PSEUDOOMPHALINA KHANSPURENSIS (AGARICALES, TRICHOLOMATACEAE) FROM PAKISTAN

Abstract The District Mansehra, situated in the Hazara division of Pakistan's Province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is characterized by moist temperate conditions and is one of the regions with a high macrofungal diversity. The genus Pseudoomphalina is rare in Pakistan with P. khanspurensis as the only species known. We present a second record of P. khanspurensis described in detail and illustrated based on basidiomata collected during a mycological field trip across various forests in District Mansehra, Pakistan. The study uses an integrative approach with morphology, scanning electron microscopy, and maximum likelihood phylogeny of nrITS and LSU sequence data. Molecular genetic analyses revealed the sample as P. khanspurensis. We consider some minor phenotypic differences, when compared to the previously reported P. khanspurensis specimens, to lie within the species range, further completing the knowledge about its morphological variation.